Concerns grow around the next auction for renewable energy

The submission deadline for Eirgrid’s Ress3 auction for onshore renewable energy projects is next week. Picture: Mikael Sjoberg/Bloomberg

An expert working in Ireland’s renewable energy sector has expressed concern that the upcoming auction for onshore developments will be largely undersubscribed due to failures in the planning system.

The submission deadline for Eirgrid’s Ress3 auction for onshore renewable energy projects is next week and the results will be announced in October. However, the Irish Examiner understands there are some in the industry that believe there will be a fall in interest in this auction following the planning delays other projects have faced.

For example, An Bord Pleanála are meant to give a decision on applications for wind energy projects within 18 weeks, but this process is taking up to a year and more in some cases.

Meanwhile, no new offshore windfarms will go ahead in Britain after the latest government auction, in what critics have called the biggest clean energy policy failure in almost a decade.

None of the companies hoping to build big offshore wind farms in British waters took part in the government’s annual auction, which awards contracts to generate renewable electricity for 15 years at a set price.

The companies had warned ministers repeatedly that the auction price was set too low for offshore wind farms to take part after costs in the sector soared by about 40% because of inflation across their supply chains.

Costs and planning issues are expected to be key talking points at the Mason Hayes & Curran’s annual Energy Conference next Thursday, which the Irish Examiner is a media partner for.

Finance Minister Michael McGrath is expected to attend the event, titled The Future of Energy Investment in Ireland, as well as stakeholders across various parts of the industry.

• Additional reporting by Bloomberg